eBay to Offer Consumer Protections

One of the problems of shopping online and paying for items with PayPal is that the consumer does not get the same legal protections as when he or she uses a credit card to directly pay the merchant. According to the New York Times, ebay has announced it will eliminate part of this discrepancy and that it will refund money to any consumer who does not receive the item purchased as described--provided the payment was made with PayPal. It also has agreed to absorb credit card chargebacks against sellers in cases of fraud or when good are not received. If enacted as publicized, these initiatives should offer consumers greater protections when buying online. (Unfortunately, I cannot find a link to this article that appeared on page C5, 6/23/08)